The case, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., dealt with patents held by Myriad Genetics for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which have connections to risk for breast and ovarian cancer. The ruling seems fairly straightforward: in the opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Court ruled that "[a] natural occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible." Not much to talk about, right?

Yet, despite the Court's unanimous ruling, not every justice signed Thomas's opinion. Scalia chose to write his own concurrent opinion, so as to set the record straight on a few matters. What matters, exactly? Well, basic facts of science, it appears. Scalia wished to distance himself from the rest of the Court concerning the "fine details of molecular biology," citing that he is "unable to affirm those details on [his] own knowledge or even [his] own belief."

If Scalia wants to admit his lack of understanding on the subject of molecular biology, fine. He's a Supreme Court Justice, not a molecular biologist. But it's the second part of that sentence that is irksome. With his concurrence, Scalia isn’t simply acknowledging his ignorance on the subject; he’s asserting that, perhaps, he doesn't even believe in it ... "it" being scientific fact, the kind of information written in textbooks. One of the highest nine justices in the country questions his own belief in science.

The Supreme Court's gene patent case should have been an uncontroversial ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union was vocal in their support for the Court's unanimous decision. Yet Scalia, with his concurrence, makes an issue not over the matters of the case, but over his own beliefs in science. When a Supreme Court Justice is on shaky ground when it comes to scientific evidence, it undermines his authority on matters that are far less clear-cut than fact. If one can't appeal to Scalia on matters that are unquestionably true, there isn't anything keeping him from ruling on cases however he pleases, regardless of evidence.